LEXINGTON, Ky.—What we learned Thursday afternoon as Butler rallied down the stretch behind its typically stern defense and a varied offensive attack to defeat No. 11-seeded Bucknell, 68-56, in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 at Rupp Arena:

Butler’s in a great spot

Look at that draw. Marquette, Colorado, Illinois, Miami. Very good basketball teams. Think Butler has any reason to be frightened of any of them?

What always has worked for the Bulldogs in the tournament? Great coaching, great execution, physical defense. It happens that they’ve also remained far removed from opponents with elite talent.

In 2011, the run was Old Dominion, Pitt, Wisconsin and Florida to get to the Final Four and VCU once there. There were some future NBA players in there, such as the Badgers’ Jon Leuer, but no one truly dominant. In 2010, Butler had the best talent on the floor (forward Gordon Hayward) in pretty much every game it won (UTEP, Murray State, Syracuse, Kansas State, Michigan State). The only possible exception to that was Syracuse’s Wes Johnson, but Hayward is having a considerably better NBA career.

This Butler team might lack a definite NBA player. It somewhat depends on how 6-9 Kameron Woods develops over time. But so long as the Bulldogs (27-8) can walk onto the floor knowing they won’t be overwhelmed, they can be reasonably assured they won’t be outhustled or outcoached.

Four Butler players contributed double-figure scoring Thursday, led by guard Rotnei Clarke’s 17 despite his difficulty in getting his 3-point shots to land. He was only 2-of-8 from long distance, but one of his toughest attempts helped keep Bucknell (28-6) at a safe distance in the closing minutes.

Willman a great shot

Look, it’s not as though nobody’s ever made six shots in a row before in an NCAA Tournament game. It’s not that common, so it was pretty remarkable, but that’s not what made Joe Willman’s run unique.

No, what made it extraordinary was the nature of the shots William took. Bucknell’s 6-7 senior forward from Tinton Falls, N.J., averaged 10.3 points on 48.8 percent shooting this season. He obviously is a fine shooter. But his ability to catch a lateral pass near his chest and turn into a shot—there’s nothing quite like it among the highest-profile teams in this tournament.

It looks like the shot is coming entirely out of rhythm, but it’s his shot. He nearly fired Bucknell into an upset, but frankly he didn’t get enough opportunities after establishing how good he felt about his shot. He didn’t miss from the 2:50 mark of the first half until 6:08 remained in the game.

But after Butler started using Woods, a 6-9 shot-blocker, to defend him the Bison were discouraged from throwing it to him. Willman ended the game with 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting.

Muscala had trouble with the attention

Butler defended Muscala, Bucknell’s star 6-11 center, by using 6-11 Andrew Smith as a primary defender and doubling him on the catch, often dropping a guard down off the perimeter.

Muscala might have struggled just with Smith in his company. Smith is heavier and likely stronger and that size gave Muscala obvious problems establishing position near the goal. But the extra defender made it even more difficult for him to maneuver and use his quickness to get around Smith and into scoring position.

That’s Muscala’s advantage over players who are bigger and more physical. He is quick enough and skilled enough to maneuver around opponents. But with that maneuverability taken away, he could find no comfort. When he tried to bank in a lefty half-hook from the left block late in the first half, the ball fell meekly off the rim. He was 1-of-9 from the field at that point.

It appeared he had no ideas.

Things picked up a little in the second half, especially when Butler was forced to call off the double-team when Bucknell’s shots started to drop. But even after his coaches gave him a costly rest in an attempt to extend the eight-minute timeout for him—Muscala’s sub committed a turnover and made a critical defensive error at a decisive juncture—he still wasn’t emphatic enough on his return.

Muscala failed to convert a one-on-one drive against Smith down the left side of the lane with 5:34 remaining, and Bucknell was in serious jeopardy. Muscala finished with nine points on 4-of-17 shooting—obviously not a winning effort.

It’s not easy being first in line

Consider that three of the first four teams to play Thursday couldn’t even manage two dozen points in their opening halves.

Up in Auburn Hills, Mich., Valparaiso was falling down 35-18 in the first half to Michigan State. Here at Rupp Arena, Butler and Bucknell—teams not known as poor-shooting teams—hit a combined 16-of-55 from the field. They shot 11 times from 3-point range; they missed them all.

It got a little better after halftime for both teams. (Actually, for Bucknell, a lot better. Just a little better and the Bison would have been blown out.)